LEARNING TO DO STALL TURNS

**NOTE** REMEMBER! THESE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE TO GIVE YOU ONLY AN IDEA OF WHAT IS TO HAPPEN. YOU NEED TO BE MUCH HIGHER IN ALTITUDE BEFORE TRYING ANY AEROBATICS FOR THE FIRST TIME. USE EXTREME CAUTION AND HAVE AN INSTRUCTOR THERE WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES. ALSO THESE ILLUSTRATIONS AND LEARNING TECHNIQUES ASSUMES THAT YOUR HELICOPTER IS SET UP TO DO THESE AEROBATICS. MAKE SURE YOUR MIXES AND COLLECTIVE IS SET CORRECTLY! GET AN EXPERIENCED FLYER TO CHECK THEM OUT AND DO FEW FIRST.

Photo Group #1

Photo group #1 shows the helicopter in straight and level flight flying away from you. The read loop is the path you will want to take. Your first stall turns will be more like a sloping turn or a sloppy turn with some altitude increase. Just like doing a normal flat turn only with a little more climb to it. You should do stall turns after the helicopter passes you and on the "up wind" leg. You do loops and stall turns into the wind so the helicopter will climb better and the wind will help maintain lift.

Photo Group #2

Photo group #2 shows the helicopter just starting to pull nose up into the stall turn. This is like the first part of doing a loop. You are still "POWERING" into the loop or in this case, the "UP" leg of the stall turn. The helicopter is still going into the stall turn straight.

Photo Group #3

Photo group #3 shows the helicopter farther into the stall turn. Here you are starting to turn right. In a "normal" stall turn you would NOT be turning like you would in a "normal" turn, you would not use any aileron or roll in your stall turn. Here you are adding right roll. Since you are "pulling" back on the elevator, you will get some turn out of it, just like an airplane..."Roll - n - Pull". Basically it is a sloppy turn at this point. You are increasing your altitude instead of a level turn. You are also pulling the throttle back some to slow the process down some and so you don't climb too high. The only reason you are slowing down the process here is because at this stage you are learning stall turns. You want to gradually get into the learning process so it doesn't cause any learning problems. Since you know how to turn and fly around this should be "old" news to you.

Photo group #4

Photo group #4 shows the helicopter at the top or peak of the turn. Its just a follow through of step #3 but you will be pulling back on the throttle more. In the final version of a stall turn you would be totally vertical with the helicopter and at a 0degree pitch setting so the helicopter doesn't blow in any direction. Don't worry about that right now.

Photo group #5

Photo group #5 the helicopter is now on the downward leg of the stall turn. Here you still have right yaw and right roll. You will let the helicopter fall a little as it comes through this point, but you are trying to have the helicopter come out of the stall turn at the same level as it went in so soon you will want to power back into forward flight like you do as you come out of the loop. As you can see, its almost at that same position that you would be in at the end of a loop. Its basically or almost the same stick position as the the spot before the peak of the stall turn and the peak of the stall turn.

Photo group #6

Photo group #6 shows the helicopter almost level again. you at the point where your adding the power back in and leveling out. You are back into the power and coming back forward on the elevator. You have taken most of the right roll and right yaw out.

Photo group #7

Photo group#7 shows that you are back to a forward flight condition with your throttle and elevator. You have finished with the right roll and right yaw. If needed you will add a small amount of left roll to level the helicopter.

After you have practiced this you will keep progressing with the stall turn. With the "normal" style stall turn you will not use any roll in it. You will climb to a vertical position, and take the throttle / collective pitch to 0degrees. At the peak of the stall turn you will give right yaw for 180 degrees. Then you will travel back down the same path as you went up. Ideally you will want the turn to be completed at that split second the helicopter comes to a complete stop at the top of the stall. Then you will exit at the same altitude you went in and fly out. You should always do your stall turns "UP WIND" till you get them down. The wind will give you increased altitude for the stall turn.